Eat The Rich
by nancy777ca
Summary: Book 2 in the DeanAnnie series that begins with Ties That Bind & Gag
1. Chapter 1

Eat The Rich

"And then I pulled his pants down," Annie smiled as she took another sip from her grape flavored Big Gulp.

Sam was doubled over in the front seat, laughing his ass off while Dean gripped the steering wheel, quietly fuming.

"That's what happened when one touched the barbie. I think Dean learned his lesson," Annie said smugly from the backseat.

"Too old for birthdays. I knew there was another reason." Sam rolled down the window but the warm muggy night air offered no relief. "Dude, you might want to consider loosening the purse strings a little. Air conditioning would be nice."

"How about when we get to the motel, I stick you in the fridge?" Dean scowled.

"That would require you paying for a room that had one," Annie said. She leaned over and offered Sam a sip from her drink.

She looked over at Dean and noticed the fine sheen of sweat on the column of his neck. "Here." Feeling sorry for him, Annie offered his some too.

He grunted his thanks and then proceeded to empty the cup.

"Oh you're welcome," Annie said sarcastically, shaking her head.

They pulled into the parking lot of the first motel they came to after they passed the road sign welcoming them to Santa Barbara.

Dean went on in to the front desk to get them a room while Sam and Annie waited by the Impala.

"So how you doing?" Sam asked her, his brown eyes warm with compassion.

"You mean because I should be on my honeymoon right now?" She asked sadly. "I'd really rather not talk about it. Wallowing isn't exactly my thing, you know? How about you? I bet you could use some wallow time," Annie reached over and rubbed Sam's back as they sat on the hood of the car.

"I've wallowed enough for a lifetime," Sam replied fiercely. "Now it's time for action,"

"I'm with you," Annie nodded, feeling a shiver of dread trickle down her back. They'd be fine, she told herself. As long as the three of them stuck together, they'd be able to fight whatever was out there.

"I have bad news and bad news some more," Dean replied coming towards them. "First, get off my car."

Annie rolled her eyes and slid off the hood.

"They only had one room left," Dean informed them, sticking his wallet in his back pocket.

"You're kidding," Annie said with a groan. Then she stiffened and narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "That's all they had or that's all you're willing to pay for?".

"Sure, Annie because there's nothing I'd like more than being stuck in one room with the foghorn and the trumpet. Not quite what springs to mind when I imagine me in a threesome."

"Dude!" Sam screwed up his face in disgust.

"You're a pig." Annie spat pushing past him towards the building.

"Well, I never," Dean mocked dramatically.

"Hey, man. Come on," Sam said.

"What?" Dean asked blankly turning away so Sam had to follow him towards the motel.

"Cut her some slack. Her fiance was just murdered by what may or may not be the spirit of her dead mother. The butting heads thing was funny when you two were kids but haven't we all grown past that?"

Dean stopped and turned to his younger brother, appearing to be considering the wisdom of his words. "She started it."

When Dean unlocked the door to their room, Annie saw what his second bit of bad news was. There were only two beds.

"Man..." Annie groaned dragging her feet across the questionably grimy carpet. She dropped onto the bed closest to the bathroom, tossing her gym bag containing her few possessions on the floor.

"Ha. I don't think so," Dean pulled her by the arm to her feet. "Seeing as I paid for the room--"

"With a stolen credit card!" Annie replied pulling her arm back and sitting back on the mattress.

"Oh for the love of--Look Dean, here, take my bed. Jesus!" Sam got up and gestured to the single bed with a violet bedspread.

"Well, I hope you're happy," Annie sneered at Dean as Sam grabbed his sleeping bag from his bag and spread it out on the carpet.

"What I am is tired so shut your yap." Dean turned and went to check out the bathroom.

Annie listened to John Winchester's voice in his outgoing message. That same strong, soothing voice had calmed her fears when she was young. As she grew older, the voice was more often then not, barking orders at her and inspiring her own fury. Now his voice taunted her with its simple detached message. Annie wondered if John was on the other end listening to her plea to call them back. Listening and once again, not deeming her worthy of his attention, ignoring her. She nearly gave in to the urge to throw the phone on the gravel of the parking lot and stomp it to pieces.

"Voicemail?" Dean asked with grim resignation.

"Voicemail," Annie confirmed. "Did you tell him I was coming along with you guys?"

"I left him a message, yeah. Called me back and gave me what for."

"But not where he was, right?" Annie asked

sticking her phone in her pocket.

Dean stiffened. "He wants to take care of business on his own. I respect that."

Annie opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. What was the point, really? Dean's devotion to their father was an immovable point and he rivaled Annie herself for stubbornness. "Well, I'm off to bed. 'Night, Dean." She placed a hand on his shoulder in dismissal and then moved back towards the door to their room. He caught her wrist with his fingers, startling her.

"Annie, I..." Dean cleared his throat, his adams apple moving sharply.

"Yeah?" She asked, looking down at his fingers and trying to shake the surge of...something, through her blood at the feel of his fingers on her skin.

"I just...well, about Jack, I wanted to say I'm..."

Annie pulled her hand back quickly. "Don't,"

Dean blinked in surprise and in the darkness his eyes looked almost sad as they regarded her.

"Please. I don't really want to talk about or think about that night so...please."

"Okay," Dean nodded taking a step back.

Annie tamped down the biting pain of guilt and focused on the fact that Dean had tried to do a good thing. Though she knew there was no need. A taunting voice reminded her that she was the reason Jack was dead, not Dean. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek, feeling her stomach tighten at the taste and memory of his skin against her lips. "As much as you enjoy pissing me off, I think you just might be one of the good guys."

Dean smiled at her, his eyes lighting up at her words but he quickly veiled the pleasure at her words under his common nonchalance. "Who told you that? I'll kick his ass."

"I'm going to sleep, Winchester. You could use some beauty sleep yourself."

"Such a charmer," Dean joked following her inside.

Annie woke to the sounds of clicking and the shower in the background. She stirred, grumbling at the scratchy sheets beneath her and opened her eyes. The off white paint was bubbled in places on the ceiling and cracked in a few others. Looking over to Dean's bed, she noticed it was empty and guessed that it was him in the shower. She lifted her head and saw Sam sitting at the small tray table in the center, intensely focused on his computer screen, his shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes as it constantly did. She made a mental note to offer to trim it for him later.

"If I ask you what you're looking at and it's porn, just lie to me, okay?" Annie joked, raising herself up onto her elbows. The shower on the other side of the door stopped running.

"Very funny. Good morning. Want some coffee?" Sam picked up one of the styrofoam cups of the tray and handed it to her.

She gave him a sleepy smile and scrambled quickly towards his outstretched hand. "You were always my favorite brother."

"I heard that, you little brat!" Dean shouted through the bathroom door.

"Mmm, and it's still warm too." Annive shivered pleasurably after taking a sip.

"Dean, hurry up and get out here. I think I found something," Sam called out.

Dean came out, rubbing a towel through his dark, short hair. He wore jeans and nothing else, his chest still slightly damp and flushed from his shower.

Annie averted her eyes quickly, not liking how quickly the sight of his tight muscled body familiarly affected her. It had been years, and his body, if anything, had grown more beautiful. Annie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. He'd probably be one of those men who were still strong and distinguished in what should be their dotage.

"Listen to this. Three people in their early twenties found dead in the gated community of Highbrook. Two men, one woman."

"Some freak ass love triangle gone bad?" Dean offered, taking a seat next to Annie at the foot of the bed.

"Maybe, but I've never heard of a murder/suicide where the victims bleed each other to death," Sam explained. "Not to mention how the third guy would have drained his own blood from his body."

"Okay, ew," Annie exclaimed with a shudder.

"The blood was drained from their bodies? And where did it go?" Dean asked.

"There's one possibility," Sam suggested, swallowing down a surge of bile.

"Vampires?" Dean and Annie asked at the same time.

"Vampires," Sam agreed.

"Looks like we've found ourselves a job, boys and girls," Dean announced.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Annie threw the black dress pants at Dean's head. "Take off your jeans."

Dean winked up at her from the bed. "I didn't think you were that kind of girl."

Sam snorted as he buttoned up the few buttons on his recently purchased polo shirt.

"You're not going in jeans." Annie replied, slipping into her heels. She didn't miss Dean's quick

glance at her legs and felt her cheeks warm at the intense look in his eyes when his gaze lifted back

to hers. She turned back to Sam.

"You look about ready to run for President." Annie said grinning reaching up to brush his shoulder.

"Of Geeks Of America," Dean grumbled.

"You. Jeans. Off. Now," Annie snapped impatiently.

He stomped his foot on the floor loudly and gave her a Nazi salute, then grabbed the pants and

disappeared into the bathroom.

Annie straightened the white linen shirt she wore and made a last minute inspection in the mirror.

She tried to take a deep breath. She bit her lip. They would fit in, she told herself. She was ready to

get back into this world again. "Well," she corrected out loud, blowing stray lock of hair off her

forehead. "At least we'll fit in."

They drove to Highbrook, where Sam managed to change the gate's keypad code and gain them

entrance.

"Geeks of America," Sam said smugly as Dean passed him through the gate.

Annie held her breath as Dean presented the three invitations he had obtained, thanks to a

Highbrook resident named Ashley that he'd managed to hit on the night before. The guy at the door

nodded curtly and stepped aside for them to let them in the house.

'House' was an understatement, Annie marveled, taking in the elegance of the black marbled

hallway. The Winchesters had lived modestly yet comfortably, but holy crap! This place looked like

something out of Mansions Of America. There was a small crowd of twenty-somethings in the living

room. One couple was draped on a red plush couch, groping each other while a few others were

smoking...Annie grimaced at the distinctly non-tobacco scent.

A dark haired guy with a leggy blonde by his side were bent over a glass coffee table with small thin

straws up their noses.

"Geez," Annie swallowed uncomfortably, forcing herself to look away. Pot, she had tried a few times

but coke, well she decided the loss of brain cells wasn't really worth it. She'd stuck a pearl up her

nose once when she was five, the painful experience taught her that nostrils were meant for exit

only.

"Oh my God, Dean!" A high pitched voice jolted Annie from thoughts and the well endowed Ashley

came bouncing towards them. "I'm so glad you could make it. Come on out to the pool. We've got

extra suits if you need them. Oh hello...I'm terrible at names. Dean's sister, right? Amy?" She linked

her arm through Dean's and flashed her white even teeth at Annie and Sam.

"Annie," she corrected, trying to smile and not care that Ashley's ample right breast was pressed

against Dean's elbow.

"Right and you're Sam. You're gonna love my best friend Shirley. She's really hot. Follow me. Annie,

take your pick of the testosterone buffet." Ashley tossed back her blonde mane as she led Dean out

to the backyard. Then she stopped and grinned at Annie before ushering them out through the glass

sliding doors. "Unless you're more of an estrogen girl. We have a few of those too."

"No. Though I'm sure girls would be less trouble." Annie smiled pointedly at Dean who rolled his eyes at her.

"Then you have to meet Randy. He is to fucking die for. Randy!" Ashley called out behind them.

"Oh, no. Really I'm not here to hook up, honestly. I just wanted to hang--" Annie began to protest

earnestly but Ashley held up her hand.

"Relax. Randy's a great guy. Really laid back. Besides, it's his house. You've gotta meet the host.

Hey Randy."

Annie and Sam turned around and she came face to face with a white linen covered chest. Raising

her head, Annie's breath caught. Lordy! This one was a looker. Straight out of GQ with black-as-

midnight-hair and soft brown eyes. Like Jack. Annie thought with a pang of sadness. 

"Hi, it's Randall," he corrected taking Annie's hand. His voice was smooth and low and Annie

shivered, not unpleasantly

"Annie," she replied, taking in that very full mouth. "You're house is really something. Beautiful."

"Thank you," he smiled and offered her a glass of what looked like white wine. "I inherited it when

my parents died."

Though his voice warmed over her like honey, his words were clipped and clear. "Would you care

for a swim?" He pointed towards the pool and when Annie turned back towards the glass doors she

realized Sam, Dean and Ashley were no longer behind her. She felt a moment of panic until Randall

moved his hand up to her elbow. "Or maybe you'd like something to eat? He handed her a cracker

with what looked like caviar."

Annie blinked and fought the puckering of her lips. She'd never had caviar in her life but fish eggs

had never sounded all that appealing despite their association with the rich and famous. But how to

refuse and not offend her handsome host? Well, she usually was up for anything. Demon hunting

demanded an adventurous spirit, after all but...ew. Annie smiled up at Randall and took a deep

breath.

Blackberry jam. Nothing but blackberry jam. Annie tried to trick herself and opened her mouth to

take a bite. Very salty and crunchy. Poor dead fishies! Annie fought a shudder and forced herself to

swallow. Her throat refused.

"Awful isn't it?" He asked, amused with her obviously non-complimentary reaction.

Annie choked on a burst of surprised laughter, some of the caviar going down the wrong pipe and sending her into a small coughing fit. 

Randall wrapped an arm around her and drew her close while he patted her back and snuck a linen

handkerchief in between them and raised it under her chin for her to spit out the rest of the caviar.

"Go ahead."

"Oh bad is not even the word!" She hissed with a shudder. Then her cheeks flamed when she

registered how close she was to the guy.

"It's an acquired taste. Or so they tell me." Randall motioned to her wine glass, urging her to take a

sip and wash out her mouth. "I never really acquired the taste for it myself."

"Thank God. I didn't want to have to lie to the host." Annie smiled now that the awful taste was

fading from her tongue.

"Honesty is refreshing. All this pretension gives me indigestion." He pressed a hand into the small of

her back and led her back towards the corridor.

Annie found she didn't really mind that he was probably pulling her away from the crowd to try and

make a move on her. If Dean could be distracted by Ashley BigBoobs, she certainly wasn't going to

stew jealously by herself.

But what about Jack? Annie halted, her stomach plummeting. How could she possibly allow herself

to flirt with this guy when the man she loved was barely cold in his grave. Too soon! Much too soon, she scolded herself.

"What is it?" Randall asked, his fingers caressing her spine slowly, almost as if to soothe her.

She glanced back towards the living room.

"Oh, we'll only be a few minutes. I promise. I only wanted to get away from the noise and talk. That

okay?" He asked with a small boyish grin.

Annie looked among the heads for...Dean. Oh for the love of Pete! Annie bit back a curse of self-

disgust when she realized she was looking for his familiar blonde head. He was off playing tonsil

hockey most likely.

"You'll love the garden. It's quiet. These guys are more interested in the pool and the booze. But it's

within screaming distance of the house if that makes you feel better." Randall grinned at her, dark eyes shining.

Every flower and plant imaginable was spread out in the immaculately tended garden that seemed

to go on forever. Annie was assaulted with the sweetest smells. Roses, lilies, orchids and dozens

more. Orchids were her mother's...Mary Winchester's favorite flower. Annie had brief flashes of

being out in the sun, her hands in the dirt as she 'helped' Mary plant flowers in front of the house.

Her eyes burned at the memory and Annie forced herself to blink back the threatening tears. "It's gorgeous out here."

"It's my favorite place in the whole world. Surrounded by all this beauty, you forget how ugly the

world can be."

Annie realized with a start that she'd completely forgotten her purpose for being here in the first

place. The murders and their possible supernatural nature. Jesus Christ, Winchester! She needed to

focus on something besides this gorgeous man and his pretty flowers.

"It's good to have a place like this to come to. A sanctuary. Keep out all the evil around us."

"One would hope. But it's hard when the evil comes to you. You know about the those poor souls

who were murdered recently?"

"Yeah. It's horrible. The victims were found here. Over by that balcony." He pointed to the middle of

three balconies above them.

Annie stared at the balcony and then back at Randall, a shiver of warning trickled down her back.

"They died here?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Annie stared at Randall, her mouth open as her mind raced. Here? In this very house? She turned back towards the doorway and saw what she thought was Sam's shaggy dark hair.

"If I ever find out who did it, who violated my home. I'll kill them," Randall vowed. Annie studied his face. His jaw was clenched and his dark eyes were narrowed with a dangerous glint. Annie could sense he was imagining the violent death he would impart on the killer. The realization that he might be speaking literally made her more than a little uneasy.

Vampires, capable of sucking every drop of blood out of the bodies of innocent people were somewhere in this room. Her stomach tightened with a brief surge of terror before she reminded herself that this was the world she would have to face if she wanted vengeance for what happened to her fiance.

"Them?" Annie suddenly asked. "You think it was more than one killer?"

"Don't you? Three grown people murdered at the same time. It would take more than one person to take them down."

"That's assuming they were killed at the same time."

Randall stared down at her, his eyes warming at his lips turning upwards in a grin. "What are you thinking in that beautiful head of yours?"

Annie bit back a smile at his compliment and crossed her arms over her chest. Dean had an irritating habit of shooting her ideas down, considering himself the expert on all things. It was nice to have someone actually take her thoughts into consideration. "Well let's explore the possibility that it was just one killer. Someone who picked the victims off one by one. He would go after the bigger of the two men first, then go after the second guy and the woman. He'd bring all three bodies in to one room, where everyone would find them but he could easily mix in with the party guests."

"You're not a cop, are you?" He asked playfully tapping her nose.

Okay, so that irked her a little, Annie admitted.

"Should I be worried you're gonna bust me for all the coke and underage drinkers? Tell you what, why don't we leave all this CSI stuff to the cops and enjoy the rest of the evening." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back towards the other guests.

Sam! She had to find Sam RFN!

Her baby not-brother was getting what could only be described as a lap dance while some nubile black woman was licking his neck. He was fighting with her slim groping arms as her hands kept trying to disappear between them to his waistband. He was protesting, albeit weakly, as his downstairs brain seemed to be taking control.

"Samuel Aaron Winchester!" Annie snapped brusquely.

Sam jerked forward sending the woman on his lap toppling to the floor. He jumped to his feet guiltily, his beady brown eyes blinking rapidly.

"Having fun?" Annie asked tightly. If Sam could be so easily led, God only knew what Dean was doing.

"I'm mingling," Sam explained with a shy smile.

"Of course you are. Dare I ask where Dean is?"

"He's.." Sam's dark eyebrows drew together as he searched the room for his brother. "Uh..ming-"

"Mingling. Right," Annie said rolling her eyes. She turned to search him out herself when she came right up against him.

"Hey Randy," Dean said with a wide grin. "Great party. You're out of beer though. Might want to go check on that. Annie, come on, let's dance." He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to the small area behind the couch that had been set up as a small dance floor.

Annie lowered her gaze and focused on his chin. Her breath always came up short when she was too close to his eyes...or his mouth. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she tried to not dig her fingers into his shoulders and run them down to feel the hard muscles of his arms.

"So you and Randy makin' nice?" He asked, his breath tickling the bridge of her nose.

"It's Randall," Annie replied curtly, trying not to shiver. If only they could dance without his hands on her.

"Oh, Randall, is it?" His tone matched hers, making her gaze snap up to his angrily.

As couples around them bumped and grinded, Annie tried to put as much distant between her and Dean as possible.

He gave her a knowing smile and pressed his hand into the small of her back pulling her closer. "What's the matter, Gorgeous? You're not scared of little old me, are you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him but refused to rise to the bait. "I found out the murders happened in this very house."

Dean pulled back slightly in surprise. "No kidding?" He made a quick scan of the room. "So whoever did it could have shown up tonight." His arm tightened reflexively around her.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mention that part to Sam until we get back to the hotel considering he had a woman glued to his neck a little while ago."

" 'at's my boy!" Dean forced a serious expression at Annie's scowl. "Right. Vampires. Bad."

"Could I cut in?" Randall dropped a friendly hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Sure." Annie pulled back until Dean was forced to relinquish his grasp.

He gave her a fake smile and motioned for Randall to take his place.

As Randall drew her closer, Annie took a deep breath, relief pulsing through her body.

"So are you having a good time?"

"Sure, except for the whole, 'there could be a killer in the room', thing." Annie replied with an uneasy smile.

He grinned at her and pulled her in to him until her body was almost flush with his. "I promise to protect you. There's a ball Highbrook hosts every fall. It's coming up this weekend. I'd very

much like to invite you. As my date," he added.

Annie saw Dean watching them out of the corner of her eye. She grit her teeth and turned her head resolutely away from him. "Jackass" she whispered under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Randall asked her.

"I'd love to." Remembering they were here to do a job and not socialize, she grudgingly added, "Would it be all right if Dean and Sam could join us? They'd kill me if I made them miss out on a party."

"Of course."

Was that a beat of hesitation?

"I'm sure Ashley would enjoy that. She and Dean seemed to hit it off," Randall remarked.

Annie's smile faltered slightly but she nodded. If any 'hitting' was gonna be done, she hoped she could be the one to do it. Maybe she could deflate one of Ashley's boobs with a nice solid punch.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The familiarity of holding a gun again freaked Annie out a little, but she said nothing as she aimed at the beer can on the fence. The grey metal no longer felt cool against her skin. It was now warm and comfortable. Her finger curled on the trigger and her sense memory kicked in as flashes of firing at different demons sped through her mind. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the can of Budweiser.

"Sometime today, please!" Dean groaned from behind her.

Annie turned and brought the gun level with Dean's head. "Don't tempt me, pretty boy."

"Shoot me or shoot the can, just shoot something so we can go get some food." Dean slid off the hood of his car and took another swig of his beer.

Annie moved her focus back to the can on the fence, took a deep breath, and fired. And missed. "Shit."

"Nice. Let's hope the vampires are nice enough to stand still for a second shot."

"Fuck you," Annie spat. God, she was gonna get them all killed if she couldn't keep up with them.

"Hit that can and you've got yourself a deal," Dean joked

Annie didn't dare turn to face him so he wouldn't see her flaming cheeks. The secret dark part of her leapt up and screamed 'yes!'.

Sam sat on the fence, flipping through pages of a book on vampires. "Most vampires don't need to use violence against their victims. Adept at seduction and coercion, vampires have historically been portrayed as exceptionally good looking. They have sometimes been compared to shape shifters, taking on the most aesthetically pleasing features to best achieve their objective."

"So it's literally being a sucker for a pretty face, huh? I always wondered where that saying came from," Dean said. "Annie, seriously. Bang! Bang! Let's go." He pointed his finger at her motioning for her to concentrate on shooting the can.

"So maybe it's the lovely Ashley of the Inflatable Floatation Devices that we're looking for," Annie sneered, trying once more to hit the can. Another miss.

"Please, who was the one swooning over Brad 'oh my hair is so pretty' Pitt in Interview with a Vampire?" Dean reminded her.

Annie winked at Sam who she had forced to watch the movie with her as a teenager at least 15 times.

Sam rolled his eyes and went back to his book. "Contrary to popular belief, a stake through the heart is not an effective way to dispose of a bloodsucking demon. Note that this is not meant to include human beings who indulge in the practice of drinking blood. In the case of mortal vampires, any method that will kill a human will kill a mortal blood sucker. The distinction lies in immortal vampires who have purchased their long lives with dozens, sometimes hundreds of human victims."

"So are we supposed to ask whether the killer is an undead or whether the bloodsucking is more of a hobby?" Dean asked.

"Sure. Excuse me, Miss Bloodsucker, which would be the best way to kill you?" Annie asked, sharing an amused grin with him that for a split second made her heart stop in her chest. _Almost like old times._ She cleared her throat, pushing down a surge of longing. She stiffened her spine. "Okay, dammit. This time I'm gonna do it."

"Sam, turn the radio on. Maybe she needs some mood music."

Sam flipped the dials on the car stereo and turned up the volume when he came across Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust."

"I'm glad my incompetence is so fucking entertaining to you both!" Annie snapped. With a soft growl of fury she aimed at the can. "All right you piece of recycled crap. Your ass is mine." Extending her arms, she steadied her trigger hand and fired. The can popped off with a loud clang and Annie let out a shout of triumph. "Ha! Take that Mr. Oooh, I'm hungry. Oooh are we ever gonna get out of here? Oooh, maybe the vampires will stand still for you." She emphasized every statement by stabbing Dean's chest with her finger.

"I'll pay you if you can hit it again," Dean replied with a taunting smile, his blue eyes shining in the warm sun.

Annie looked back at the fence, hesitantly and then shoved his shoulder and stomped towards the Impala "I'm hungry."

As Annie showered, Dean glared daggers at the bathroom door. She was a little too pleased with Randall's invitation to his-what had she called it? Sor-y-something. Not to mention that behind that door, she was naked. Wet too.

"Dude!" Sam snapped his fingers in front of him. The impatience in his voice telling Dean that he'd been trying to get his attention for a while.

"What?" Dean asked, irritated.

"What is your problem? We have a job to do here. Could you at least pretend to focus?" Then Sam's gaze drifted to the bathroom door and back to Dean. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Okay, what's the deal here, man? You and Annie."

Dean stiffened. "Me and Annie, what?"

Sam rubbed his hand across his face and shook his head. "I know the girl can hold a grudge like nobody's business. But there's this vibe between you two that..."

"Oh Christ, you're not gonna get all psychic and touchy feely, are you?" Dean asked, stubbornly leaping to his feet.

Sam shook his head. "You're such an ass. Sometimes I think you two have declared a truce but then she or you, usually you-"

"Oh screw you," Dean grumbled pulling his shirt off.

Sam went on as if he hadn't spoken. "One of you says something and I have to pull you both into opposite corners. I get she's pissed that you knew she was adopted and didn't tell her."

"What the hell was I supposed to do, Sam? Dad made me promise I wouldn't say a word. It was his business, not mine!" Dean burst, frustrated with having to constantly defend himself in the same argument over and over again. He grabbed some clean underwear and boxers, preparing for his shower.

"Okay, but there's more to it than you keeping dad's secret."

"Are you billing me by the hour here?" Dean snapped.

"So we go to lunch and she mentions Randall's party and you looked about ready to shove her head into the wall. Going to the party is a good idea, Dean. If she can get close to Randall, maybe he can help us figure out who the vampires are. You were acting like a..." Sam's voice trailed off as the truth began to take shape in his head.

Dean busied himself with finding his soap and shampoo so his much too observant little brother wouldn't see how close he was getting to the truth.

"Oh my God. Dean...tell me you didn't do what I'm thinking you did," Sam groaned.

"As usual, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"You pig!" Sam leapt to his feet. "You slept with her didn't you?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"You really think I would-" Dean clenched his fists and reminded himself that Sam's brain came in too handy in their line of work to knock it out of his head.

"In a heartbeat. As soon as you found out she wasn't our sister-"

"For your information, she threw herself at me and I turned her down." Dean crossed his arms over his chest and glared smugly at his younger brother.

Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow. "She hit on you. That woman in there?" He asked, pointing at the bathroom door.

"That's right," Dean nodded. Then he lifted one shoulder. "Okay so she was drunk."

"Ah," Sam nodded in understanding. "That explains it. But what I don't get is...Well, shouldn't she be glad or relieved that you turned her down? Is it just embarrassment and that you kept dad's secret that makes her so hostile to you sometimes?"

"What do I look like? Oprah? Hey!" Dean drove his fist into the bathroom door. "Move your ass in there!"

Annie started singing the theme song to Flashdance in an obvious attempt to get on Dean's nerves.

"So is this gonna be a problem? You two, working together with this... thing between you?"

"There is no 'thing'. I am a professional and she's...well, she's a foul mouth little brat ninety-five percent of the time. But we're both interested in the same thing; killing this demon that destroyed our family, finding dad and annihilating every demon in between. Regardless of any friction, that has gotta be the..." Dean's words trailed as Annie came out of the shower in a small UCLA t-shirt and grey shorts. Her hair was a dark wet auburn that was tousled around her face as she rubbed a towel through it. Her creamy skin was flushed from the heat of the shower. Her mouth drew his gaze like a magnet and everything inside of Dean clenched. Furious at himself, he turned away from her only to find Sam watching him like a scientist studying a damn lab rat.

"You are in so much trouble," Sam whispered shaking his head.

"Hmm?" Annie asked blankly. "Oh, all yours."

She motioned dramatically to the open bathroom door that smelled like...her. Oh Jesus Christ, Dean thought grabbing his things and stalking into the bathroom.

Jack was in the blazing church. Annie couldn't see him but his voice split her skull, screaming at her, cursing at her for sending him in to the fire to save Dean. She tried to rush into the church to save him but in her dream John Winchester was holding her back, his hands like steel bars around her arms. She fought against him, kicking and pulling, screaming herself into waking up.

"Annie! Annie, dammit, stop!" Dean's voice penetrated her terrifying haze and she found herself pressed against his chest when the fight went out of her. He had one leg on her bed as she collapsed against him, sobbing.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I'm so so very sorry."

Dean clutched Annie to him and met Sam's eyes over Annie's head. She dug her fingers into his ribs while she trembled against him and tried to slow her choked breathing. When Sam moved towards Annie, Dean shook his head.

For a confused instant, Annie thought it was Jack holding her. The church fire had only been some horrific dream and he was alive and holding her safely. But there was something...different. He felt different against her and her nose buried in his chest filled with a scent that was not Jack's. It was earthier, woodsy with an underlying hint of beer. Dean! She jumped slightly but didn't pull away, an elemental part of her giving in to the urge to stay right there and let him comfort her. She wished he could be this way with her more often. But no, he always had his guard up. He was always cocky and snappish with her as if she'd made some grave unpardonable sin just by her very existence. It made these quieter, kinder moments more precious to her. Maybe if Dean was this was with her more often than she wouldn't have turned to...Annie pulled away from him with a gasp, horrified at her own train of thought.

Dean felt a sharp pang of regret when he felt Annie pull away from him. It must have finally occurred to her who was holding her. Part of him was relieved, another minute and he wouldn't have been able to hide his growing physical reaction.

"Sorry," Annie murmured, uncomfortably. She wiped her damp cheeks and kept her eyes down, afraid to look at him and have him crack some joke about what a weak baby she was.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

Annie swallowed a sob. "What? Yeah," she cleared her throat. "Bad dream, I guess."

"Yeah, no kidding. What was it about?" Sam asked leaning across the space between their beds and placing a warm hand on her back.

She turned her head and tried to smile but her attempt failed if the sadness in Sam's eyes was any indication. Annie shrugged. Feeling her tentative grip on her emotions begin to slip yet again, she pulled away from Dean and slid off the bed and rushed out of the hotel room.

The air was warm enough and the parking lot empty so that Annie could indulge herself in a good cry for a few minutes. How fucking messed up was she? One minute she was crying over her lost groom and being tormented by dreams of his death, and the next minute, she was clutching a man she, nine times out of ten, couldn't stand and wishing that she could stay in his arms forever. No wonder God took Jack away from her, if she could want someone else so soon, she didn't deserve Jack's love. She didn't deserve the future she would have had with him. She rubbed at her damp eyes furiously, self-hatred boiling inside of her.

Their door opened behind her and Sam stepped out, his gaze questioning. "You know you really should try and get some sleep. We have vampires to kill in the morning."

Annie couldn't stop the small burst of quiet laughter that bubbled in her throat. "Most people have to worry about waking up for school or some boring job. We have vampires." Then her face crumpled and she didn't protest when Sam made a deep sound of sympathy in his throat and pulled her into his arms.

"I have nightmares about Jess a lot," he admitted softly.

"How can we just walk around and do our thing as if they never existed?" Annie asked bitterly.

"Is that what you think we're doing?" Sam asked, pulling back and tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.

"There are moments I don't even think of Jack at all. Almost like I'm already forgetting him!"

"No. You're not, Annie. But we have a job to do here. We have to be able to go on and live and be strong. We can't destroy what killed them if we don't fight against the temptation to bury ourselves in our grief."

"It just feels like...like I'm betraying him. Like he didn't matter enough to me so I can just get over him," Annie wailed, feeling fresh hot tears springing to her eyes.

"Is that what you feel inside? You're still having nightmares about what happened, Annie. You're not getting over anything. Neither am I," Sam said, shaking his head derisively. "But maybe someday, it'll get easier. That's what I hear anyway. Time heals all wounds and all that."

"Do you believe that?" Annie asked, her lower lip quivering.

"It's the only way we can do what we have to do, Annie. We have to have hope, hope that it'll all end some day and we can maybe have normal lives again."

"Do you even remember what normal is anymore?" Annie asked, leaning her head on his shoulder as they sat against the grey cement wall.

"I remember Jess," Sam explained, his voice thick with emotion.

Annie didn't have to ask what he meant. She'd never been happier than when she'd been with Jack. They had to hope that they could have that again someday, love some one again like Sam had loved Jessica and she had loved Jack.

When Annie fell back asleep that night, she didn't dream of her fiance's death. She dreamt of Dean.

She dreamt of Dean.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"I don't like this. Not one fucking bit," Dean insisted slipping his jacket on and following Annie out into the parking lot.

"Yeah, and what else is new?" Annie asked. "Look, the best way for us to ferret out these vampires is to get in their circle. Randall told me the killings happened at his house. So chances are these are people Randall knows."

"Or Randy himself," Dean pointed out.

Annie shook her head and looked behind Dean at Sam who shrugged. "It's not outside the realm of possibility."

"What? You actually think Randall could be the killer? Come on," Annie rolled her eyes.

"Well, like you said, the killings happened at his house," Dean repeated. He opened the driver's side door and slid into the Impala.

Annie waited to slip her seatbelt on before replying. "You didn't see how furious he was that these monsters killed innocent people in his house. He's positively enraged, guys. There's no way he's a vampire,"

"Right, and the fact that he makes you weak in the loins doesn't color your perception of him at all," Dean drawled, his fingers tight around the steering wheel. He slammed his foot against the accelerator with more force than Annie thought was necessary, sending the back of her head slamming against the headrest.

"Unlike you, I don't make my decisions based on that region of my anatomy."

"Well, that took all of five minutes. Can we please save the sandbox shoving and pigtail pulling until after this job is done?" Sam asked.

Dean and Annie were silent and sullen for a few seconds before they both whispered, "He started it,"

"She started it," belligerently in unison.

As they pulled in front of a formal wear boutique, Dean turned and pointed his index finger at Annie. "You grab the first sparkly thing you find or so help me, I'm locking you in the trunk for the drive back to the motel."

"With all the weapons? Are you sure, Dean-O?" Annie asked, grinning saucily.

Sam burst out laughing in the backseat. 'Oh God, I haven't heard that nickname in years!"

"Don't call me by that stupid name. It wasn't funny when we were kids. It's even less funny now," Dean snapped.

Annie slid her seatbelt free and pushed open the door. "Yabadabadoooooo!"

"Hey," Sam said, grabbing Dean's shoulder after he turned off the ignition. "I'm not all that eager to have Annie saddle up to Randall 'cause I think you might be right, but she does have a point. She can draw him out more easily than you can. Get his guard down,"

"Sammy, are you trying to pimp her out?" Dean asked wide-eyed.

"You're sick."

"I prefer to concentrate on the part where you said I was right."

"Right and the fact that Annie's gonna have to spend so much time with Randall has nothing to do with anything."

"Get out of my car, Sammy."

"Speaking of weak in the loins. Oh and it's Sam, Dean-O,"

_Speaking of weak in the loins,_ Dean thought as he watched the black gown hug every delicious curve of Annie's body. He fought a groan as she gathered her hair up off her neck, twisting it then letting it fall back down. She did this repeatedly, checking out her reflection in the mirror as she tried to decide. As she leaned closer to the mirror checking out her neck, her body dipped slightly. The much-too-V-neck gown exposed more creamy flesh than was healthy for his sanity.

"Up or down? I can't decide," Her green eyes met his in the bathroom mirror.  
His mouth was too dry to answer at first. Dean forced himself to clear his throat and drop the cocky mask back in place. "What do I look like, Queer Eye For The Straight Guy?"

Annie narrowed her eyes at him. "Get Sam."

"He's getting lunch." Dean sighed. "Do the up one again."

Annie lifted her hair up and Dean's eyes were glued to her bare neck. Tiny wisps of red curls tempted his fingers.

"Down," he croaked. _On the floor, spread eagled, beneath him. Winchester!_ The soft curls fell down her back. Dean stepped forward and her eyes met his again in the mirror. She jumped slightly when he gathered her hair up into his hands and her eyes flickered with a look Dean had seen only once before. His body swelled in sense memory and he was very glad he was standing behind her. He slid the thumb of his free hand down the nape of her neck, unable to resist touching her. She watched him silently, her eyes wide, her lips parted, her cheeks growing more pink by the second.

Then she was turning slowly so that his hand came around to the side of her face, his palm cradling her cheek. Dean stopped breathing. Neither said a word. Her breath was soft against his neck and Dean feared he was about to embarrass himself. Or grab her hips and set her up on the edge of the sink. The jury was still out. Then she made his breath hitch by raising her eyes up to his. Dean realized with a start that he now had both hands cradling her face and Annie wasn't stopping him or pulling away.

She licked her lips and gave him such a look of breathless expectation that Dean closed his eyes and groaned. Awareness seemed to flicker in her eyes and she pulled back but Dean held her still and lowered his forehead to hers.

"Dean…" she sighed. He could feel her trembling beneath his fingers.

He said nothing, not wanting to break the spell. And he was definitely under some crazy ass voodoo thing when it came to her. She turned him inside out and as frightening as it was, Dean wanted to let it happen for a little while longer. Just a few more seconds where he didn't have to remember that he had no business thinking of her the way he did. Or letting her look at him the way she was right now. Or touching her.

"Dean," she whispered again. Her hands came up around his wrists and she leaned in close. Too close. Not close enough. Her mouth drew his with a fierce magnetic pull and Dean thought, _just once. Not even a real kiss. Just let me taste her again. Just a little._

"We can't…" she breathed shakily.

"I know," he replied but he didn't pull back, neither did she. If anything, she moved closer.

Less than half an inch and he'd be touching her mouth. _Oh fuck…_ Annie closed the distance by tilting her chin slightly upwards and Dean nearly came in his penguin suit. He let out a groan that burst from somewhere deep in his belly and he drove his fingers into her hair, gripping tight. She whimpered and pressed herself closer to him, moving her hands down to his shoulders and digging her fingers into the tuxedo jacket he wore.

He tossed every instinct that told him this was a mistake out the fucking window and thrust his tongue into her mouth, getting stupid drunk on the mere taste of her. Dean pulled her closer, trying to imagine burying himself inside of her, molding her every curve against him instead. A little taste was never going to be enough, he realized. Dean felt as if a dam had broken open inside of him. He turned them both around, pressing her against the back of the door, shutting them inside. Annie gave a startled gasp, but didn't break away from his mouth. _She wants this. She wants this as much as I do. No, not possible._

Her hands slid down to his hips and she was pulling him forward. Digging her fingers into his waist and sighing into his mouth.

"Dean…" she whispered, her fingers trembling as she sucked in a short gasp of air before closing her lips back over his.

"God…" Dean exhaled, moving his fingers down to cup her ass and push her up against him so she'd have no doubt about what he wanted.

Then a sound penetrated the lustful haze in the room, the sound of a door opening and then closing and then the most fucking irritating voice on the planet.

"Hey Dean? Annie?"

Dean felt Annie stiffen against him and her eyes flew open in horror. The spell was broken and Dean wanted to shove his fist into his brother's face.

"Oh God," Annie whispered tearing her mouth away from his. Dean covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head.

"Go out there and take him some where. I'll come out later." How he managed to get enough blood into his brain to form coherent words, Dean had no idea, though he was certainly use to it. This throbbing want was a part of his every day existence. He was very good at keeping it buried. Or usually was anyway.

Annie's face was red and her eyes were filled with obvious embarrassment and regret. Christ, what were they thinking? Well they weren't really, Dean thought with a snort. Then his gaze went to her hair and he couldn't resist reaching out and wrapping a fiery lock around his index finger. Annie's eyes widened and he watched suck in her breath.

"Down," he decided gruffly. He pulled back and tried to wipe the taste of her from his lips so it didn't whet his appetite to go after her again. He reached past her, feeling her warm breath against his neck and pulled the door open, letting her out while keeping himself hidden.

When she slid out of the bathroom, Dean leaned against the door, resisting the urge to slam his stupid head through the white-washed wood.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"So are we gonna talk about it?" Dean asked making Annie jump when he appeared behind her.

"Not even a little," Annie snapped, trying not to turn around and face him. The last time she'd done that… Annie swallowed hard against the heated memory. She kept her focus on the elegantly dressed crowd and not on Dean and his hands, which she could almost still feel in her hair and which she had kept down. What the hell had she been thinking letting him…wanting him to kiss her? Down that road lay disaster. They both knew it. Yet that didn't stop this energetic pull between them from spiraling out of control.

_That's it._ Annie thought. It was the fact that they both knew they were completely wrong for each other that intensified the attraction between them. Being drawn to a flame even though you knew you'd get burned. The clichéd bad boy rebel, that women couldn't resist. That's all. There. As long as she kept that in mind, she'd be able to keep the attraction in its place and keep her heart from being broken. Again.

"Look, Annie. What happened was just…I don't want you to think…I don't know…"

"Oh shut up, Dean," Annie pleaded searching for Randall.

"It won't happen again. Just wanted to make that clear. I guess maybe it's been a while-"

"Are you actually saying these words?" Annie hissed, her cheeks burning. Not to mention that her pride was now Swiss cheese. _Been a while! Fucking horn dog bastard! _But she knew that, Annie reminded herself, forcing down the seething rage churning in her belly. It hadn't meant anything to Dean. Of course it didn't. Dean Winchester didn't do warm and fuzzy. Nor did she want him to. She loved Jack. She always would and she never wanted anything to take away what she had felt for him. Jack's love had been open and good and made her happier than she'd been in years.

That was certainly worth more than some heated fumblings in a motel bathroom with 'Love 'em and leave 'em Dean Winchester'. "Just forget it, okay? I already have." She crossed the floor towards Randall who smiled and asked her to dance. She eagerly stepped into his arms and let him lead her around the dance floor, all the while feeling Dean's eyes on her.

Until some pretty blonde came up to him and turned his attention away. Annie grit her teeth and smiled up at Randall, telling herself that she was glad Dean was no longer visually stalking her.

"So, are you having a good time?" Randall asked, smiling down at her.

"Hmm, what?" Annie asked, distracted. Blondie was trying to get Dean out on the dance floor. _Good luck with that, _she thought, fighting a grin. Dean would rather stick safety pins in his eyeballs than dance, which was probably for the best since the guy had positively no rhythm. If it weren't for his appreciation for classic rock, Annie would have been convinced Dean was positively tone deaf. "Oh. Yeah. Noted the absence of caviar this time around. Nice touch,"

"Thought you'd appreciate that. You know, Annie. I would really like to see you again. I hope you stay in town for a little while."

Annie fought a pang of nervousness, but forced herself to tamp it down. She was just letting Dean's words get to her. She was certain she had absolutely nothing to fear from Randall. "I would like that too," she admitted. Randall at least, was no threat to her sanity.

"So your brothers…they're certainly protective. I don't think Dean likes me very much,"

"Don't take it personally. Dean doesn't like anybody," Annie assured him.

"Would you like to get out of here for a few minutes?" Randall asked softly. He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Annie forced herself to tear her gaze away from Dean and his giggling, blushing bimbo. "I really would." As she followed Randall across the floor, a frission of nervous energy shot down her back as Dean's words came back to haunt her. She really didn't know Randall all that well. He could be the killer himself. She surreptitiously patted her thigh, feeling for the gun filled with silver bullets. She could handle herself just fine. If anything, she was looking forward to proving to Dean that she could hold her own as a hunter. She didn't really believe Randall was their guy, but it never hurt to be safe.

"I got the impression that Dean and Sam were fishing for something the other day. Acted more like cops than over protective brothers."

"I'm sorry. They can be pretty intense. We pretty much have to look out for each other, you know?"

"Your parents?" Randall led her into a small study. Furnished obviously for male tastes with a pair of wooden paneled glass doors that led out to the balcony. A large leather couch ran across the wall. He pointed towards it and poured himself a brandy from the decanter on the desk. "Drink?" he offered.

Annie nodded and then lowered her gaze so he wouldn't see the pain in her eyes at the memory of the mother she had lost and the father who had betrayed her. "They're gone," she replied simply. It would take longer than they had to explain the truth, if someone like Randall would even believe the truth. Hunting was a damned lonely business. But at the same time, Annie found herself wanting to shield Randall, someone who wasn't touched by the crap she had to deal with.

_Like Jack? No!_ Annie inwardly screamed and shuddered.

"I'm sorry," Randall said, he pressed his fingers into the small of her back. His dark eyes warmed sympathetically.

"What about you? I think you said this was your folks' house?" Annie asked, cutting off the direction of her thoughts. She cradled the glass in her hands and took a small sip. The sharp liquid warmed her throat immediately.

"Right. It's been in my family for generations. My parents left it to me when they died."

"No siblings?" Annie asked.

"Nope. I'm the last of us," he admitted. His eyes flickered with sadness.

"Trust me, be grateful you don't have to deal-" she caught herself and covered her mouth with her hand. "God, that's a terrible thing to say. Forgive me,"

He gave her a sad smile. "It's all right. With all due respect if Dean and Sam were my family, I'd feel much the same way,"

She laughed softly and shrugged. "They have they're moments. I'm actually closer to Sam. He's kind of the best of us."

"Really?" Randall asked pulling back slightly in surprise.

"Yeah, we have more in common with each other than Dean…What?" she asked at the perturbed look on his face.

"Nothing, really. I just got the impression that you and Dean were closer."

Annie's cheeks warmed and she swallowed past an uncomfortable lump in her throat. "I'm closer to Sam," she insisted. "We both know what it's like to lose people we love,"

Randall sat next to her, his warm thigh pressing against her companionably.

"Unfortunately, I can relate to that kind of loss. Did your parents die recently?"

"No. I was about 3 when they died. Sam lost his girlfriend a few months ago. My fiancée died around that time as well."

"God, I'm sorry, Annie." Randall pulled back and shook his head. "Here I've been feeling these feelings for you and you've been dealing with such a terrible loss. I hope you'll forgive me,"

Annie's cheeks warmed at his words and her stomach tightened with sensual awareness. Guilt and desire warred with her. Part of her wanted to tell Randall not to say what he was saying. The other part of her wanted him to keep talking, to be honest and strong and lay his cards on the table. Annie closed her hand over his. "There's nothing to forgive."

He slowly reached up and cupped her face. "I know you may not be ready yet but do you think, perhaps when this is over and you work through your grief…Could there maybe be a place for me in your life?"

She wanted to say yes. The knowledge scared her a little. Annie leaned forward and pressed her mouth against Randall's softly, tentatively. There wasn't that frightening rush of sensation like when Dean kissed her. It was very different to kiss Randall, Annie realized, distantly comparing as Randall's mouth opened and he took control of the kiss. There wasn't the comfort and love that she always felt kissing Jack either. It was a good kiss. A kiss with potential and as much as Annie told herself she wanted to move on, she couldn't let this go further.

She pulled back and got to her feet. Randall said nothing as she moved over to the balcony. She took a minute to clear her head as she stared out over the gardens. It was too soon. Randall waited a few minutes before coming up behind her on the balcony. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Sam make his way out to the garden below them. When Annie turned to face Randall she could see the question there in his eyes.

"We should get back," she said.

A few minutes after their return to the ballroom, Sam stumbled into the ballroom, bloody and disheveled. He was hidden enough so that none of the other guests saw him but he caught Annie's eye and waved her frantically over. He pressed a finger to his lips.

Annie moved to turn Randall away from the balcony but he saw Sam.

"Is that blood?" Randall asked moving quickly towards him.

"Wait, wait!" Annie whispered, grabbing his arm. "You don't want to alarm the other guests."

"Good point," Randall agreed. He slowed his steps and tried to appear as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"I'll get Dean," Annie said turning back to scan the edges of the dance floor. Dean was there by the wall, whispering something into some dark haired girl's ear that was making her cheeks flush pink as she giggled. Annie grit her teeth and tried to keep her mind on what was happening. She walked towards him and poked his shoulder.

No reaction. Dark haired bimbo had his full attention. A primitive part of Annie wanted to punch bimbo in the face and blurt out that the guy currently putting the moves on her had very nearly fucked Annie on the bathroom sink earlier that day.

But they had vampires to kill.

"Dean." Annie poked him again.

Dark haired bimbo tossed her a dirty look.

The bastard actually swatted her away! A more direct approach was obviously needed. She reached for Dean's earlobe and pulled. Hard.

"Son of a-Ow! What the hell is your problem?" Dean snapped grabbing his injured ear.

"There's something you need to see. Now,"

"Uh, excuse us. We were having a conversation," Bimbo scowled stepping between Annie and Dean.

"And now you're not," Annie replied curtly. "Let's go, Dean."

She turned away, fully expecting Dean to follow because really if he didn't she wasn't gonna be responsible for her actions.

When they got out onto the balcony Randall was gripping the edge and fury was coming off of him in waves.

"I tried to follow the guy but I lost him," Sam said wiping his hands on his pant legs as he rose to his feet. He led them down to the gardens where he had covered a woman's body with his tuxedo jacket. Dean leaned down and pulled the jacket off, revealing a very dead twenty year old. The twin holes in the side of her throat were almost undetectable in the mess of blood that was most of the poor girl's upper body.

Annie swallowed against the urge to vomit and squeezed her eyes shut. "Jesus Christ,"

"Did you get a good look at him before he ran off?" Dean asked.

"No but that's just one of our problems. He didn't run off. He ran in," Sam explained.

"What?" Annie asked, a shudder of foreboding shooting down her spine.

"He ran back into the house," Sam repeated in obvious confusion.

"Why would he stick around?" Dean asked.

"Maybe he wants to get caught?" Annie offered weakly. The woman's lifeless dark eyes stared up at her "Could you cover her back up, please?"

"What?" Dean asked.

"She's right," Randall seethed. "He wants to get caught. But not by the police. That son of a bitch. I'm going to kill him,"

"Okay, calm down. We'll call the police and then we'll comb this entire estate for the guy,"

"No. No police," Randall snapped.

"Why not?" the three of them asked in unison.

"He ran back inside cause he's daring me to come after him. He knows I won't call the police," Randall's eyes took on a frightening steely quality.

"Excuse me but I repeat, why not?" Annie asked placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"I'm going to find him and then I'm going to fucking slit his throat."

"Whoa, easy there Randy," Dean said, throwing Sam a worried look. "First we've gotta find him before any…uh…slitting goes on. Sam? You remember anything about the guy?"

"I came out here for some air. I looked down and saw some guy grabbing a woman. This woman," he pointed down at the dead body and closed his eyes briefly before continuing. "It's too dark to be sure but I think he had blond hair. Shoulder length. He was about your height with a slimmer build," He directed this at Randall. "That's all I could tell. He took off too fast when he heard me coming."

"Okay. I think we should split up. We'll grab some stuff out of the trunk," Annie said.

"Uh, no and no," Dean insisted. "Sam and I will grab the guns from the trunk-"

"Guns?" Randall asked in surprise.

"You are staying here with Randy and making sure nobody knows what's going on. If the guests get wind of what happened they'll bolt and our vampire might sneak right past us out the door."

Randall stiffened and his eyes widened. "Vampire? How the hell do you know he's a vampire?" he glared at the three of them, Annie in particular in accusation. "Who are you people?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"We sort of…uh, have experience with this kind of stuff," Annie explained, glad it was too dark for Randall to see her grimace.

"What? Are you mediums or psychics or something?" He asked.

"Tell you what, a little less sharing and a little more vampire hunting, okay?" Dean asked. "You two can swap life stories later.

"Fine. I'll get the guns out of the trunk," Annie said walking towards the car before Dean could object again. He stomped after her.

"You need to stay with the other guests. If you and Randall suddenly go missing our blood sucker might know we're on to him and book."

Annie refused to look back at him. She waited for him to unlock the trunk and then started pulling out weapons. A rifle. Pistol. The axe might come in handy too but she could strap the pistol around her thigh and keep it hidden until she needed it.

"Sam is the only one who even knows what our Lestat looks like."

"It's after Randall. Not Sam," Annie finally spoke, hiking up her dress to wrap the strap around her leg.

"Which brings me to my next point. You don't think it's a little strange that his guests are getting knocked off one by one and Randy doesn't want to call the cops?"

Annie's hands stilled. She had wondered about that too but wouldn't give Dean the satisfaction of voicing her doubts. "You're not exactly a fan of the boys in blue either, Dean. Randall wants to get this guy himself. I think I should be the one to help him go after our killer. He trusts me more than you thanks to your constant interrogation and sunny disposition."

Dean was silent and when Annie looked up she realized why. He was focused on her bare leg, her heel propped up on the bumper and dress pushed up past her thigh. She lowered her head, bringing her hair forward so he wouldn't see her blushing. She felt his eyes on her skin like hot fingers and Annie forced herself to shake the sensation off and focus back on the matter at hand. Once the pistol was securely fastened, she put her leg back down.

"Look, I know you're all googly eyed over Randy but can you-"

"Dean, you keep riding me about how I don't have the chops to be as good a hunter as you and dad." Annie shook her head and corrected herself. "John. How I'm rusty and inexperienced. How am I supposed to get better if you keep trying to pull me out of the action? I'm doing this. Case closed." She started to walk past him but he grabbed her arm, halting her.

"No, no no. The case is so not closed," Dean snapped.

Annie's heel turned in a crack in the sidewalk, making her lose her footing and pitch forward, colliding against Dean's chest. His arms came around her and for a few seconds, Annie couldn't breathe, held against to warm solid length of him. The memory of the earlier morning swamped her and her body shivered, betraying her. She wanted so badly to just curl up against him and have Dean hold her and tell her that he didn't regret their kiss earlier that morning; that it had meant something to him.

But that wasn't Dean. And no matter how much she wanted him to be tender and warm, no matter how much she wanted him to let his guard down and allow her to let her guard down around him, Dean was not Jack. She never felt safe with Dean, at least not with her emotions. For once, she wished she could just give reign to the fierce feelings inside of her and not have to feel guilty and afraid all the time.

If wishes were horses…

Renewed hunger blazed in his eyes as he stared down at her. _I guess it's been a while…_The words came back to her like a brutal slap and Annie stiffened against him. "Guess it's been a while for me too," she sneered jerking out of his arms.

Dean clenched his jaw and she watched a muscle move in cheek. "Right. Well, I'm sure Randy will be happy to oblige when this is all over."

Annie bit her lip and fought the desire to either burst into tears or punch him. "I'm counting on it," she hissed brutally stomping off. God, she didn't mean that. She liked Randall. Even admitted to being attracted to him, sure, but he was still a very big question mark. Annie wasn't sure she could trust him.

"I'll make sure to guard the bathroom door for you two,"

Annie froze. He couldn't have just said that, her heart insisted, though her ears told her the truth of the matter.

She stared down at the dark cobblestones. The streetlights drew soft shafts of shadow in the dim light. When would she learn to stop wishing for things that were never going to happen? Dean was who he was and she'd be a stupid moron to wish he was different. She gathered her strength and forced herself to turn and face him. He looked so cocky and arrogant standing there. Annie almost did punch him. "You're a fucking bastard."

He grinned at her. "That's me, sweetheart."

Annie squeezed her eyes shut and stalked off to find Randall and Sam.

Randall initially hesitated when Annie offered to stick with him to find the killer. "I…It's too dangerous,"

Annie refused to turn around and see Dean's look of skepticism. Her own instincts were enough to tell her that concern for her welfare wasn't Randall's only reason for his unease. "Don't worry. Like I said, we've got a lot of experience with this kind of stuff."

"Uh, no. We've got a lot of experience with this stuff," Dean cut in pointing at himself and Sam. "You've been off playing Suzy Homemaker, remember?"

Annie scowled at him and nearly reached for her pistol when he added, "Since Sam is the one who got a look at Fang-boy, I think you should stick with him. Annie and I will take the other direction."

"I really think I should stick with Rand-," Annie protested.

"Of course you do. Sam, let me know when you find our vampire." Dean lifted his cell phone and pulled Annie off with him in the opposite direction.

"What the-Why the hell-Dammit, stop pulling at me!" Annie yelled furiously as Dean dragged her back into the mansion.

"Look, Sam saw the guy and our vampire seems to be hankering after Randall. You're coming with me. There's a better chance of our finding the guy if we split up. Use your head, would you?" Dean spat reaching for her again but she took a step back.

"You know what? Go to hell. This is not gonna work. I thought maybe for the sake of this job and until we find dad that maybe you and I could get along but for some reason you seem to be determined to piss me off. So fine. You got your wish. You want to keep up the enmity between us, be my guest. Sam and Randall are scoping out one end of the basement. You can take this end. I'll go off on my own and call Sam if I find our guy." Before he could stop her, she stormed down the corridor that led to what smelled like the wine cellar. She heard Dean call her name twice, then curse.

They really did seem incapable of getting along. How sad, considering she remembered a time when she thought Dean hung the moon. Okay, so she was six the last time she felt that way but still, life was so much easier then. Maybe she would do better to go off and find John and the damned demon herself. There was too much…everything between her and Dean. She didn't like herself when she was with him. He made her furious. Constantly. He scared her. Terrifyingly. And she wanted him. Desperately.

Maybe she really should give Randall a chance, Annie wondered as she swept the flashlight through one cellar aisle and then another. Her misgivings were probably just her own mixed emotions colored by Dean's constant skepticism about Randall's motives. The man hadn't given her one reason not to trust him. He had been honest with her, which was more than Annie could say about Dean.

Annie shook her head. She'd done perfectly fine these past years without Dean's perfect judgments of character. Annie gave a snort of derision as she followed the corridor to what seemed to be a dead end. "Well crap."

Then she noticed the gap of light in the middle of the wall. What should have been one solid slab of stone was split in two down the center. Annie reached under her gown and slowly pulled her gun out of its holster and cocked it, just in case. As she got closer, she could hear muffled voices but couldn't make out words. The voices were raised in anger. She gripped one edge of the wall and pulled. It didn't move. Annie took a deep breath and put a little more muscle into it. The stone wall scraped open with a soft, heavy squeak. Annie sucked in her breath and held it as she squeezed past the slim opening. Behind the stone wall was a flight of stairs that led down to an ornately carved oak door.

"A mansion with a secret passage way. Of course," Annie whispered with a surge of nervousness tinged with excitement. She descended and then pressed her ear to the door. The voices were louder now, but still mostly indistinguishable.

Annie crouched down and gripped the golden door handle. It was locked. She pulled out the pin that held one side of her hair up and grudgingly thanked Dean for teaching her how to pick locks. She slowly pulled the door open, gripping the gun tight in her hand. The first thing she noticed was the warmth of the room caused by the dozens of blazing candles spread out across the dim room.

The second was Sam, unmoving and tied to what Annie could only guess was an altar. The third was the crowd of robed figures.

Then there was the blond man who fit Sam's description of the killer vampire.

Bent over him was Randall, axe in hand and bared in anger, his fangs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Randall!" Annie screamed pointing the gun at both him and the man he was getting ready to bite. _To bite. Fuck me._ Annie's hand shook on the pistol as both adrenaline; fear and utter shock raced through her veins. Randall looked up and Annie saw the guilt and surprise flicker in his eyes before he lowered his mouth back down to the killer. "Stop! I'll fucking shoot, I swear." Annie's voice wavered but she cocked the gun and straightened her arms resolutely.

"Let me kill him. He deserves to die for all those innocent lives he took."

It was then she saw the steel blade in his hand. No, iron. It would have to be iron, Annie mused briefly before firing a shot in the air.

"Who the hell are all these people? You tell me," Annie demanded pointing her gun back at Rabdall, needing to hear her suspicions confirmed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of them make a move towards her. Sam rolled off the altar, having freed himself and fired a direct shot at her would-be attacker. The killer used the distraction to gain the upper hand on Randall. Blondie worked his way out of Randall's grasp and fought him for the iron blade.

Pandemonium erupted and the cloaked figures turned to Annie. Before they could grab her she began to fire wildly, trying to keep the pistol no where near the direction of Sam. She fired as she ran. Her aim good enough/ bad enough? to take out at least 4 of the cloaked figures.

She gasped when she saw Randall clutch his arm. Had she shot him? Did Sam, who was also firing and had taken out at least seven cloaked figures…vampires? All of them?

"Annie!" Sam yelled and too late, Annie knew why.

She was tackled from behind and slammed painfully against the concrete cool floor. Her chin slammed brutally on impact and for a good few seconds, Annie saw stars. Someone painfully grabbed her hair and hauled her to her feet. As her vision cleared she couldn't see Blondie and realized that he was the one holding her.

"Hello there, pretty girl," he purred in her ear, making Annie's skin crawl. "What do you say Randall? I think we can share her, don't you?"

"I swear to-" Randall hissed taking a step towards them.

"Who? God? He's not for people like you and me, Randall. We are the forsaken. Isn't that right? Does she know? Do you know what he is, pretty lady?" Blondie asked. He brushed some hair off her neck.

"Dammit Aaron-"

"That's right, Randall. You and I and all of these people like us. Damned."

"Oh, and I'm sure all those innocent people you murdered have nothing to do with-" Annie sneered.

"Shut up!" Aaron yelled in her ear.

Annie cringed at the bellow, squeezing her eyes shut. The sweaty clamminess of fear slithering down her spine.

"The problem with Randall here is that he decided he was better than the rest of us. Forgot what he was. You're no better than me. Than us," Aaron sneered.

"He isn't a killer. You killed that poor woman and who knows how many others. Randall is nothing like you," Annie spat. She watched Randall's face soften in gratitude and his eyes glistened as they met hers. Annie knew it was true. No matter what he was she knew that deep inside, Randall was a good man. A bloodsucker, no doubt but somehow…not a killer.

"Randall is a vampire, you stupid girl. Killing is in his blood. Isn't that right?" Aaron grinned, fangs glistening as his cold black eyes met Randall's.

Sam stepped closer, trying to get a clear shot but Aaron pointed his gun at him while his fingers curled around Annie's neck. "Uh uh."

Aaron turned back to Randall. "I said, isn't that right?"

"Look, I already know what he is but I also know that he is nothing like-"

"Yes, yes but I want to hear him say the words to you. What is your name again?"

"Buffy," Annie cracked, trying for a lightness that overcame the pulse slamming beneath her skin.

"Cute. Come on now, Randall. It's not nice to keep the lady waiting. Tell her you're one of us. Tell her you're a vampire. Tell her that you've been waging war on those who are just like you."

"I didn't start this fucking war, you did when you did when you decided to continue taking human life," Randall spat, his dark eyes burning with hatred. "We told you and yours that there are other ways but you need it too much. You need to hunt, to kill. It's not about surviving for you. As long as there are those like you, the battles will continue because we are not all evil. I am not like you."

"I'm waiting, Randall," Aaron's fingers tightened around Annie's neck, making her gasp.

Randall's eyes met Annie's and he could see the guilt and apology in his gaze. "I'm a vampire."

It was one thing to know something and quite another to hear it being said out loud. Before she could stop herself, Annie recoiled with a shudder. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth to apologize and tell him she knew that he wasn't like Aaron but it was too late. Randall had seen her reaction.

The pain was vivid in his eyes when he looked at her and then his gaze filled with self-loathing.

Annie's stomach suddenly lurched and the familiar sting in her wrists told her that the stigmata had begun again. She stiffened and silently prayed for it to stop. Not that it would work. Not that it ever worked. Could there possibly be anything worse than to start spontaneously bleeding in a room full of vampires? Annie didn't think so. She clenched her hands tight into fists to try and keep the warm sticky liquid seeping down through her fingers from being noticeable. She took deep breaths to try and keep her stomach down. She heard Aaron sniff behind her and Annie held her breath, afraid she was about to become dinner.

Randall's eyes flared at the small damning plopping sounds as her blood dripped onto the floor in the otherwise silent room. Annie flinched at the hunger in his eyes.

"Oh my. What is this now?" Aaron asked with a gleeful snicker, sliding his hands down her bare arms to her wrists.

He tried to pull Annie's arms up from her sides. She resisted but he was considerably stronger. He pressed his thumbs into her wrists. Annie screamed at the excruciating pain. Aaron lifted her arms out to Randall in offering.

"Hungry?" Aaron asked and Annie shuddered at the sound of him licking his lips. "Told you we could share her.

"No, no!" Annie struggled, trying to pull her arms back, only succeeding in getting her right arm back down to her side.

Randall stepped closer.

"You don't want to do this. Randall, listen to me, dammit."

Annie watched Sam raise his gun and shook her head. "Wait."

"Hmm, now you're going to see your prince's true colors," Aaron sighed in her ear. "He's so hungry for you. Aren't you, Randall? You're practically salivating."

Randall lifted her left wrist to his mouth while Annie felt warm metal being slipped into the free hand at her side. It took her a second to realize what Randall was doing but that could have been 'cause his fangs were now exposed, his mouth getting ready to close over her wrist and Annie was ready to shit herself.

The iron dagger. His eyes met hers.

Annie took a deep breath and saw the plea in Randall's eyes.

_Trust me._

Annie let his lips meet her bloodied wrist, trying not to throw up as his tongue darted out against her pulse and a look of pure bliss crossed Randall's face. Annie curled her fingers around the iron dagger and thrust it hard and fast backward into Aaron's stomach. He howled in pain and jerked back, releasing her. Annie fell forward into Randall's arms, unable to stop herself from throwing up all over his tuxedo.

She watched Sam fire at Aaron and heard the vampire hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Ugh, sorry about that," Annie groaned and trying not to be creeped out by the image of her blood smeared on Randall's lips. He noticed and quickly wiped away the evidence of how close he had almost come.

"You fucking bitch!" Aaron screamed, hooking Annie's legs out from under her.

One of his followers grabbed Randall and held him back.

Aaron grabbed her shoulders as leverage to slide himself up her body. He grabbed the sides of her face and slammed her head against the floor, making her vision swim He exposed his fangs, ready to go in for the kill. "I'm gonna suck you good and slow," he whispered against her face.

"Sorry asshole. Don't think you're her type," a familiar voice said before Annie heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air, severing Aaron's head from his body.

She couldn't help the scream of disgust when his head dropped against her breasts. Aaron's neck spurted blood into her face, momentarily obscuring her vision until Dean helped her to her feet.

She told herself she had only thrown her arms around him so tightly and buried her face in his neck so that she could control her breathing and not vomit again.

But that didn't explain why he was holding so tightly on to her.

Or why Dean was shaking.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Once Aaron was no more, the remaining few vampires tried to scatter but Sam brought one down with a quick slice of his knife and Annie threw the dagger she had imbedded in Aaron's stomach, dispatching the other.

"You fucking bloodsucker," Dean snarled behind her.

Annie whirled around and saw Dean moving towards Randall.

"No!" she screamed. Without sparing a moment to think that perhaps there was a better way, Annie brought the handle of the dagger down against the back of Dean's neck. Dean crumpled at her feet and Annie winced, knowing he was going to completely tear her head off later.

Sam stared at her wide-eyed but not without understanding.

"Yeah, I know," Annie shrugged. Turning back to Randall, she pushed him backwards. "Go."

Randall blinked. "What?"

She grabbed his elbow and pulled him with her towards the door. "You have to go. Now. Before he wakes up."

"Annie-"

"You asked me to trust you and that's what I'm doing. You said you're not like Aaron. You're not a killer. I believe you. So go on. Get out" Annie replied softly.

Randall took a step back, staring down at her with glistening eyes. He raised a hand and cupped her cheek. "Why?"

Annie shivered; feeling her own eyes burning and gave him a weak smile. "Don't you know never to look a gift horse in the mouth? I don't want to know how exactly you and your kind survive but if you promise me that you'll never take a human life then you deserve to live…um…or survive I guess."

Randall lowered his head and pressed his mouth to hers briefly.

Knowing that this was goodbye, Annie cupped his face in her hands and lifted up to kiss him more deeply. He wasn't Jack and he wasn't Dean, but he was one of the good ones and Annie was going to miss him, bloodsucker or not. He'd given her hope that maybe she could feel something in her heart again, that it wasn't completely wrecked because of Jack's death. Odd that hope should come in the form of a vampire. "Go," she whispered.

"What about them?" Randall asked motioning to Sam and then Dean on the ground.

Annie met Sam's uneasy gaze. "They won't stop you."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Randall. "Don't think we won't know what you're up to though. It's kind of our job as you can see. You better go before he wakes up."

Randall turned back to Annie. He took her hands in his then pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the blood from her wrists. "I hope I'll see you again." He quirked his mouth upwards when he glanced down at Dean's unconscious form. "Him, not so much." He brushed a last kiss across her lips and then left.

Sam walked up behind her and sighed. "You know Dean is so gonna kill you when he wakes up."

"I don't suppose you could tell him that you hit him and then let Randall go?" Annie asked weakly.

"Uh, no," Sam insisted.

"Right. Well, why ruin a good system? He wants to tear my head off most of the time anyway."

"You should try and cut Dean some slack. He's a pain in the ass most of the time but you know he'll do anything for you."

Annie made a grumbling unintelligible sound that might have been agreement if Sam had forced her to translate. Luckily, he didn't.

"You're gonna miss Randall, huh?" Sam asked.

"I guess," Annie replied, not facing him so he wouldn't see the sadness on her face though he could surely hear it in her voice.

"Mmm. You know it wouldn't have worked out though, right? I mean, Randall doesn't look half as good with your lipstick on as Dean does."

Annie whirled around in surprise, meeting Sam's laughing gaze. Before she could ask if he had really known what happened between her and Dean that morning, Dean began to stir.

"Wha…happ…fuck," Dean whispered, shaking his head to try and clear it as he pushed himself upright.

Annie bent down to help him to his feet, holding her breath as she waited if Dean remembered who conked him over the head.

"Looks like we found our murderer. Aaron was engaged in some kind of war with Randall. Thanks to us, Aaron lost." Sam explained.

"I told you he was a bloodsucker, didn't I?" Dean spun on Annie; then closed his eyes as the movement caused him a no-doubt significant amount of pain.

"You were convinced he was our killer and he wasn't," Annie insisted.

Sam glared at her and Annie cringed. He was trying to cover for her and she wasn't making it easy. "But yes, he was a vampire," she offered, giving Sam a weak smile and trying to look effectively meek to Dean.

"I knew it. Where is that son of bitch? I've got some iron rounds here with his name on them." Dean's eyes glittered with purpose and he scanned the room.

"He's gone. He must have escaped in the confusion," Sam explained and Annie could have kissed him.

"What? How the-Never mind, he won't get far." Dean stormed towards the door.

"Dean. Dean, wait." Annie grabbed him by the elbow. "Why are we gonna bother with Randall? We've killed the thing we came to kill. Case closed, right? Don't we have bigger fish to fry?"

Dean looked down at her blankly.

"The demon?" Annie shoved at him, biting her lip and hoping that he would get distracted from his current course.

"Right," Dean said reluctantly.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and Annie felt a guilty pang in her chest.

"Right. But we can't leave that fucker just walking around. He's a vampire."

"Why the hell not?" Annie protested but Sam shook his head emphatically at her.

"We're not just letting him walk out of here. We can still keep an eye on him but he did help us out on this job, man."

"How?" Dean burst belligerently.

"Bloodsucker or not, we've got bigger problems to worry about don't we? He didn't kill anyone. If anything, we've got an in now that we didn't have before. We let Randall go, he owes us. A favor like that can come in damned handy down the line." Sam reminded him. "The goal here is find dad, kill the demon."

Dean narrowed his eyes at his younger brother and then poked him in the chest. "I don't like it and I bet my car that this was Annie Oakley over there's idea." He turned away from them and stormed back out through the door.

Now the case was officially closed, Annie thought with a snort. John was the same way. Never one to give in an argument, the elder Winchester simply walked out and let that be interpreted as his acquiescence. Like father, like son indeed.

Annie was just getting back from grabbing a few last minute food items for the drive out of town when she heard Sam and Dean yelling at each other on the other side of the motel room door.

"What the hell is up with you two?" she asked pulling open the door. "I could hear you almost clear across the parking lot."

"You!" Dean's face was a blazing mask of fury as he stomped towards her. "You're the one that knocked me out. You little bitch!"

"Whoa! Hang on a second! Whoa!" Annie backed up clutching the paper bag to her chest like a shield. Sam stepped between them and she risked a glance past his arm. "Dean, look. I didn't mean to hit you. I just-"

"You didn't fucking let Randall escape. You knocked me out and then held open the goddamned door for him. Sam get out of my way," Dean hissed trying to get to Annie

"You were going to draw and quarter the man for chrissake! He was innocent," Annie reminded him.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. You still don't get it. You're too fucking soft for this job. He wasn't a man. He was a vampire. A monster, one of the things we kill."

"Soft? Why because I don't believe in killing for the sake of killing like you and dear old dad? You want to go off half-cocked and just kill anything that moves? That is not how we are going to win this damned war. I went in there and I did my job and don't you dare say that I didn't. Aaron was our killer. Aaron was the monster and he is dead."

"Well than I guess we should all start praying you don't develop the warm and fuzzies for the demon too."

"Dean!" Sam snapped.

Annie reeled back as if he'd slapped her and then the fury inside of her boiled until she saw red. "You fucking son of bitch!" Dropping the groceries, Annie charged, now pushing against Sam to tear off Dean's head.

"Oh no you don't. Both of you stop!" Sam shouted grabbing Annie and keeping her behind him. Over all the yelling he began to make out the ringing of the phone on the night table between the two beds.

He pushed Annie on the bed and sat on her to keep her down. He stretched a long leg out towards Dean, keeping his older brother away from the squirming, furious woman beneath him.

"Good morning. You've reached hell. How may I direct your call?" Sam asked with feigned brightness. Then he went very still and his look stopped Dean in his tracks. His voice was choked and soft when he announced, "It's dad."

The End


End file.
